Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Web of Lies: Revelations.
After entering his chambers, Severus only stopped long enough to warn Poppy about his Slytherins before abruptly entering his room. Minerva looked up surprised at his sudden entrance, but he paid her no heed.
He had been sure he was doing the right thing a while ago, but now doubts had started to surface. Ignoring the questioning gaze that was following his every move, Severus threw his outer robe to the floor and sank into the free chair that had been placed next to the bed were Alec was still sleeping peacefully.
Minerva closed the book she had been reading and looked at her colleague intently, she could see he was troubled but didn't understand what could have happened to put him in this state.
"What happened, Severus? Is there anything wrong?"
The man snapped his head up and looked at her as if he was noticing her presence for the first time.
"Wrong? No... Well, maybe... I didn't think it was wrong... but now I'm not sure."
Shaking her head, the woman looked at him in amusement. "Have you been taking lessons from Albus? You certainly are making as much sense as he usually does."
That remark made Severus chuckle and calm down slightly. He knew he needed to tell her, but he was half afraid she would consider what he had done a horrible mistake. Finally, he took in a deep breath and quietly explained everything that had happened that evening, adding only his previous meeting with Salazar. The only thing he didn't mention was the truth about Alec. He didn't think Minerva would mind much about the boy being Harry, but he had made a promise, and he intended to keep it for as long as he could.
When he finished his story, he sat back in his chair and finally looked up at the woman sitting on the other side of the bed. He was rather surprised when he saw a very pleased smile on her face instead of the condemning look he had been expecting.
"That's such wonderful news, Severus. To think that you may have managed to save all those children from such a horrible mistake."
While pleased by her words, he had to tell her of the consequences of his actions, it didn't seem to have dawned on her yet. "Firstly, we don't know if that will be enough, after all, it's going against everything they have been taught since they were babies. And second, you realise I may have blown up my cover right? This will reach Voldemort's ears, one way or another, and then there will be hell to pay."
The woman moved so suddenly that Severus barely saw her. In an instant she was standing in front of him, hands firmly on his shoulders and leaning down to look him in the eyes.
"If you think, for one single second, that you're going back to that monster, you better forget it before I make you. You did what you had to and there are no maybes in this, Severus, Voldemort will find out and will know that you are a traitor; if you go to him, you will be killed, and that wouldn't do any of us any good. We need you here, you're one of the only ones around here able to keep a cool head when things go wrong, there's no way in hell we can do this without you."
Snape calmly put a hand on one of hers, squeezing it reassuringly. Her words had warmed him in a way few things had before and while he knew she was exaggerating a bit, it felt very nice. "Thank you, Minerva. And don't worry, I wasn't planning on going."
The witch gave a satisfied nod and backed away. "Good, I'll leave you with Alec now; I need to make an appearance in the Great Hall and see how everything is going. And we still need to deal with the students of the fifth house. Most of them will be ready to be released from the hospital wing tomorrow."
Severus nodded. "Is there anything you need me to do?"
The woman shook her head lightly. "No, don't worry; the other teachers will probably deal with most of it."
The Potions Master nodded and after reminding her that the Slytherin students may come to her to talk, he showed her out. When he returned to the bedroom, there was a tray full of food waiting for him, and taking the obvious hint, he sat down and ate his dinner. The evening passed quietly. He read and marked papers on a desk he had placed next to the bed.
He was about to finish with the fourth year papers when a sound coming from the bed attracted his attention. Looking towards it, he saw that the teen was starting to show signs of waking. Silently, he stood up and moved to sit next to the boy, who, at the same time, opened his sleepy eyes.
"Uncle Severus?"
His voice was slightly hoarse, and Snape let him sip on a summoned cup filled with water. Once he was done, Alec lay back down and looked around him curiously.
"Where are we?"
Severus gently caressed his cheek. "We're in my rooms. Do you remember what happened?"
The boy frowned for a minute, before his eyes flew wide open and he tried to sit up on the bed. A gentle hand prevented him from completing the movement and firmly pushed him back into the pillows.
"Don't even think about it, you're in no shape to be running around yet."
Harry blinked up at the man. "But what about Granddad? Is he...?"
He didn't dare finish the question, afraid he would receive bad news from the man. Seeing his anxiousness, Severus gently caressed his cheek. "He's fine, or as fine as possible right now. Whatever it was you did saved his life, and it looks like he's going to make it."
Feeling very relieved at the man's words, Harry started to relax and his eyes dropped again. He was about to fall back asleep, when Severus shook him gently. "Alec, try to stay awake for a bit; I want Madam Pomfrey to take a look at you, and you need to eat something."
The boy grumbled lightly under his breath but he made an effort to push sleep out of his mind. When he was more or less sure that the teen would remain awake, Severus left the room for a moment to summon the nurse and ask some food from a house elf. Ten minutes later, he was back next to Harry's bedside. The boy was starring at the ceiling intently, as if it was the most interesting thing that existed. The poor child looked like he was about to loose his battle against sleep, but luckily that was when the nurse arrived.
Poppy immediately set out to examine him, talking all the time to keep him awake. Once she was done, she turned to Severus, who had been waiting with the soup the house elves had brought.
"Give him that and then put him to bed, I'll be waiting in your office so we can talk."
Snape just nodded and went to sit on the bed next to the half sleeping child. Grabbing the boy so that he was now leaning against his shoulder, he gently fed him. They were halfway through when Alec finally wasn't able to remain awake and between to bites of soup he drifted off. Chuckling lightly, Severus arranged him comfortably on the bed and went to join the nurse.
He was slightly surprised to not find the woman alone. Minerva was sitting in one of his comfortable seats and both witches were drinking tea.
Poppy looked up and smiled at him when he silently closed the door behind him.
"Is he asleep?"
Severus nodded and sat down, taking a fresh cup of tea. "He was out like a light before he even finished his soup."
Minerva shook her head, clearly amused even if she was worried. "How is he doing, Poppy?"
The nurse looked pensive for a moment before answering. "Quite well considering what he did. I talked to the staff at St. Mungo's; while they don't know exactly what he did, they were able to give me a quite accurate account of the things he healed. It's impressive, a few of the mediwizards think he might be a natural healer, but I don't think so."
At Minerva's raised eyebrow, she elaborated. "Firstly, they are very rare. There hasn't been one for the last hundred years and even if I can't completely sure, he doesn't really show the signs. Natural healers don't only heal others, they also heal themselves, and Alec doesn't seem to do that. Besides, I can't believe that his parents wouldn't notice or at least Albus, such a thing is very noticeable, especially as a child and with Alec's power, I doubt he would ever have been hurt or playing, and that is the kind of things wizards are taught to notice when they get children."
Personally, Poppy thought that the last reasoning was fairly stupid; it wasn't like those horrible muggles would have noticed anything. But the many times that young Potter had been in her infirmary were enough to convince her that Harry might be many things, but a natural healer was not one of them. For his part, Severus was thinking much along the same line, with the many visits that Alec had done to the hospital wing, there was no way he could be a healer.
"If he isn't a healer, then what happened Poppy?"
The woman looked pensive for a moment before answering. "I may be mistaken, since I wasn't there to begin with. But some of the doctors agree with me and it certainly is more probable than the natural healer theory." Seeing the impatient looks, she sighed quietly. "I think it might have been an extreme case of wish magic."
Minerva nearly jumped out of her seat. "That's impossible, Poppy. Only very young children have wish magic, and at most they are able to summon a toy, certainly not heal the injuries Albus had."
Poppy nodded in agreement. "I know that, but to start with, Alec is much more powerful than a normal child, especially a little child. I scanned him during the summer and while most of his power is still untapped, I wouldn't be surprised if he became as powerful as Albus when he grows. Secondly, a child will only wish for a toy because that is what he really wants. There have been cases in which a child has been able to apparate away from extreme danger or to stop something unpleasant to happen to his parents. There are not many of those cases, but it has happened before."
While Minerva still looked sceptical, to Severus that made perfect sense. Of course, it probably made more sense if you knew that Alec was Harry, and if he were to believe the rumours, Harry had done things like that practically his whole childhood. He still was amused of the tale he had heard about the boy's aunt a few years ago. Looking at Poppy, he wondered for the first time if the nurse was aware of the truth. It would make sense for her to be one of the only ones able to spot the deception. After all, while Albus could change the outer appearance of Harry, he hardly was going to change the boy's inside or his magical core, and the nurse would be familiar with both after the years.
Shaking his head lightly, he turned to his Gryffindor colleague and decided to help Poppy out.
"I think she might have a point. Remember about the wards? Even Albus couldn't explain it, and it would fit perfectly in Poppy's wish magic theory."
This seemed to be enough to convince the Gryffindor Head of House. Nodding, she turned her attention back to Poppy. "Ok, we know what probably happened, but what about Alec? Does he need special care? How long will it take for him to get back to normal?"
The nurse shrugged lightly. "I would say to just leave him have a few days rest and then he'll be able to join the students again." Turning to Severus she added. "He doesn't need to be in bed all the time, he can get up if he feels like it, just make sure there's someone around him in case he has a relapse."
Snape nodded lightly. And after the three of them talked for a while longer, the two women left him alone. After checking that Alec was still peacefully asleep, Severus went to the living room, leaving the bedroom's door ajar, and settled down to read until it was time to sleep.